Films by Georg Tschurtschenthaler

Germany, USA 2024, 87 min
by Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

Startups are using AI to create avatars that allow relatives to talk with their loved ones after they have died. An exploration of a profound human desire and the consequences of turning the dream of immortality into a product."I wanted to see if he was okay," explains Christi, one of the users of Project December. With this innovative software, users can communicate with a virtual version of the deceased through a chatbot that simulates the dead person’s conversation patterns. Hers was an attempt to check on her first love. Others may simply miss someone, seek permission to move on, or want to rid themselves of guilt.Little is known about the effects that this kind of generative AI might have on our brains, hearts, and wallets. The filmmakers, Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck (THE CLEANERS, 2018 Sundance Film Festival), do not claim to have the answers, but instead bring up various emotional and moral complexities we should be aware of. Eternal You poses important questions about algorithmic immortality, and the need to take a closer look at our future 'digital remains.' — AT [source sundance catalogue 2024]

Germany, Italy 2024, 90 min
by Andreas Pichler

Europe’s largest bear rewilding project was successful in resetlling brown bears in the Italian Alps. While most locals supported the conservation project in the beginning, fear and anger prevail after a series of attacks on humans. Interweaving breathtaking and rarely seen footage of wild bears and interviews with rangers and locals, the film taps into the heated debate over what the return of the bears means for rural communities. Can humans and bears truly coexist? How do we balance conservation with human safety?

2023, 180 min
by Anne von Petersdorff, Georg Tschurtschenthaler

For many years, King Juan Carlos I was a Spanish hero, celebrated around the world for reforming Spain with his modern, progressive, democratic values. He led his country from the Franco dictatorship to parliamentary monarchy, transforming Spain into a modern European state and becoming the most popular Spanish ruler in history. King Juan Carlos had a loyal Queen, a loving family, international respect, friends in high places and faithful subjects; he had everything a King could wish for. So, how did this revered Monarch take such a drastic fall from grace that he was forced to abdicate in 2014 and eventually flee into exile in 2020? The documentary shows how a fateful hunting trip to Botswana revealed the King’s secret love affair with his companion, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, and set off a series of events that shook the Spanish monarchy to its core. The house of cards began to crumble when questions were raised about the King’s financial affairs, his lucrative links with the Spanish establishment and alleged global corruption, including a €65 million payment.

2022, 90 min
by Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Carsten Gutschmidt, Ina Kessebohm

Embedded into the turbulent history of the 1980s with HIV epidemic, cocaine wave and Ronald Reagan's fight against organized crime, REEPERBAHN SPECIAL UNIT 65 tells the story of Germany's famous red-light district and the cat-and-mouse game between Special Unit 65 and its illustrious adversaries: the 'Godfather of Reeperbahn' Wilfrid Schulz, the US Mafia and corrupt police officers, rivaling pimp gangs, Hells Angels and youth gangs as well as serial killer Werner Pinzner, whose murderous spree is mind-blowing to this very day and who shoots directly into the heart of Special Unit 65.

Germany 2022, 108 min
by Torsten Striegnitz, Simone Dobmeier  

The Joy Of Singing is a music documentary about the beauty of singing together and the longing for community. It follows three choir leaders – star conductor Simon Halsey, vocal coach Judith Kamphues and upcoming Korean conductor Hyunju Kwon – during a time when the need for singing and community becomes their greatest challenge: In their personal lives, in their careers, but also in their tense relationship with the singers. The three take us on an entertaining and encouraging journey between art and social adventure...

2021, 90 min
by Sagi Bornstein, Udi Nir

Follow the journeys of 7 YouTubers through a year like no other, in a bitter-sweet portrait of the Gen Z and our new viral world. Seven young people from across the world shared their exciting plans for 2020 when “virus” started trending online. From the pandemic, through to the BLM movement and on to the US elections – VIRAL DREAMS features over a year’s worth o real-time video posts, and depicts the surprising resilience of a new generation to a global change no one saw coming.

Germany 2020, 160 min
by Jan Peter, Georg Tschurtschenthaler

"A Perfect Crime" investigates the 1991 killing of politician Detlev Rohwedder, an unsolved mystery at the heart of Germany's tumultuous reunification.Monday, April 1, 1991, 11:30 pm: Detlev Karsten Rohwedder was shot through the window on the 1st floor of his villa in Düsseldorf with a sniper shot. Rohwedder was the head of the “Deutsche Treuhandanstalt”, at that time the largest company in the world. The Treuhand was responsible for the restructuring and privatization of the entire economy of the former GDR. The fatal sniper shot from 62 meters tears the country out of the dream of a non-violent and peaceful reunification. Although a letter of confession from the terrorist organisation of the Red Army Faction was found at the scene, the perpetrators have not yet been identified.The 40-minute episodes MARTYR | CAPITALIST | OCCUOIER | VICTIM present four different perspectives on the figure of Rohwedder and thus possible motives for his murder: Was it the last spectacular murder of the Red Army Faction - their so-called 3rd generation – was the East-German secret service Stasi behind the murder or were other forces, for example Western forces at work?The series is situated in the years 1990/91, the time immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and paints the picture of a divided Germany: the radical economic cure is leading to massive unemployment in the East, the euphoria of reunification has evaporated, in many cities the Monday demonstrations flare up again and tens of thousands of people take to the streets, calls for the Kohl government to resign are louder.The first German Netflix original documentary series offers a multi-perspective view of one of the most prominent unsolved murder cases of the German post-war period. A turbulent case and a piece of history that - as we approach the 30th anniversary of German unity - helped shape the foundation of a nation and still touches the torn soul of this nation and its people.

Germany 2011
by Tamara Wyss

In the spring of 1914 a French archaeological expedition, led by the French poet and medical doctor Victor Segalen, entered the Province of Sichuan in order to do research on burial mounds of the Han era (206 BCE-220 CE) and early Chinese Buddhist iconography and epigraphy. Research in this realm still continues in Sichuan today, but the means and techniques of the archaeologists and art historians are more complex and advanced compared to those of a century ago. Segalen, who lived in China from 1909 until 1914, was fluent in the Chinese language and was able to read ancient Chinese writings. He was a great admirer of Chinese culture and history.

Germany 2010, 100 min
by Dieter Schumann

The film accompanies the Wadan employees throughout their 18-month struggle for the preservation of their shipyard. A film about the value of work in a globalized world. Wismar, 45,000 inhabitants. The income of every third family depends on the Wadan shipyard, the only major company in the region. In August 2008 a Russian investor takes over the old, traditional business and its future seems secured. But then the financial and economic crisis hits the Hanseatic City at its very centre: more than 5,000 jobs are at stake. A race against time ensues. We accompany a group of welders through turbulent months and bear witness to the fact that losing one‘s jobs means so much more than losing one‘s income. We show the workers, the owners and the liquidators struggling to preserve the shipyard, we experience their ups and downs between powerlessness, anger, sadness and hope. The Wadan shipyard goes down and is reopened under a new ownership and a new name. Some of our protagonists return to their company, but under much worse conditions. The film examines what is left after this crisis.